Strictly Come Dancing's best love stories as Pete Wicks and Jowita confirm romance

Over it’s 21-year run, Strictly Come Dancing has seen many relationships formed between celebrities and their professional dance partners, with the chemistry on the dancefloor translating into real-life romances long after the series has ended.

The latest relationship is between Strictly 2024 semi-finalist Pete Wicks and his dance partner Jowita Przystal, who confirmed their relationship this week with a steamy snog at his Staying Relevant live show at London’s 02 arena last night (Friday, September 19).

Pete and Jowita performed a steamy dance to the track Way Down We Go by KALEO, which began with Jowita suspended in the air by performing silks before dropping into Pete's arms.

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The pair then performed the steamy routine and were seen sharing a kiss three times during the performance, which sent the audience into waves of cheers.

The two were often speculated to be dating while partnered together on the BBC One show, with fans lauding them for their chemistry on the dancefloor.

Pete and Jowita join a host of other romantic partnerships that have been formed during the show, with some getting married and having children. Let’s take a look at Strictly’s best love stories…

Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev

Countdown star Rachel Riley took part on Strictly’s eleventh series back in 2013 and was partnered with professional Pasha Kovalev. The pair began dating shortly after the show ended, before going on to get married six years later, in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas in 2019.

Taking to Instagram to share the surprising news at the time, she confirmed: “'Introducing the new Mr and Mrs Kovalev... We both said yes!” She was pregnant with their first child at the time and welcomed daughter Maven Aria that December.

She revealed her daughter was two weeks overdue as she told her fans: “2 weeks after we were expecting her this little one finally made an appearance! Miss Maven (one who understands) Aria (lioness) Riley Kovaleva arrived on Sunday morning weighing in at 7lbs 4.

“After keeping us waiting she came so quickly we didn’t have a chance to get to the hospital and was born in our bathroom with our amazing doula and wonderful St Mary’s midwives rushing over to be with us in to be nick of time!”

She gave birth to their second daughter Noa in November 2021, 15 days after her due date.

Speaking about their growing family, Rachel had told Mail Online: “We've bashed them out! Get the sleep deprivation over in one go is the plan.

“I'm 35 and I've got friends that are struggling with fertility, and you just never know if you're going to be able to get pregnant. We have been really lucky, touch wood, and we're very excited. They're great, we weren't sure if we wanted them before and we're just both in love, it's lovely.”

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez

Actress Gemma Atkinson competed on the show in 2017 and was partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec. Despite not being paired together, sparks flew behind the scenes with Gemma and Gorka Marquez as they enjoyed getting to know one another.

The two confirmed they were an item in February 2018 as they made their relationship Instagram official with a sweet Valentine’s post. In the picture, the pair were sat at the beach as they rested their heads on each other’s shoulders. She captioned it: “Here's to many more kid. Happy Valentines Day.”

A year later, they announced they were expecting their first child in February 2019 before welcoming daughter Mia Louise into the world in July.

Sticking to the theme of announcements in the month of love, the couple announced their engagement in 2021 as he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife.

They welcomed their son Thiago in 2023 as their brood became a family of four.

She recently gave an update on wedding plans as she told Express: “We’ve toyed about doing it in Spain, so his family can come, and we've even thought about doing it in a registry office or a hotel in Manchester, just the two of us, and then have a big party after.

"But I think now we want to wait until Thiago is a bit older, so maybe next year or the year after, as he's only two. If he's a bit older, he could be involved in it, which would be really nice."

Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton

Stacey Dooley was a part of Strictly in 2018 and was partnered with dancer Kevin Clifton, with the two making it all the way to the final and winning the show. The pair began dating in early 2019 and confirmed their relationship in May of that year when they were pictured walking hand in hand in London.

She insisted they were friends long before it turned into a romantic equation as she told BBC Radio 5: “Then you win together and you have Christmas and then January, you think, 'Oh where is he? Oh, I liked hanging out with him'. So yeah, it was much later down the line for us. We were pals for a long time."

In 2020, they made a big step in their relationship when they moved in together and ended up spending the entire coronavirus pandemic with each other.

They announced they were expecting their first child together in August 2022 as the presenter took to Instagram to share a picture of her baby bump on a polaroid picture.

She captioned it: “Gaaaaaaang..... We are having a baby! So bloody delighted. Kev, you're magic, I love youuuu. (Was becoming impossible to hide and if one more person asks me if I've had my t**s done in LA I'm gonna scream) Here goessssssss."

The couple became parents for the first time in January 2023 when Stacey gave birth to their daughter Minnie as they revealed the news on social media with a photo of an envelope that read: “Minnie’s parents”.

Speaking about becoming a mum on The One Show, she gushed: “Honestly, it's like I'm the first woman to ever have a child. I'm that dramatic! I'm just completely obsessed. I'm head over heels, she's magic. I'm good as gold and she is just a delight. I'm biased, aren't I? But she is just the love of my life and I'm just made up with her."

Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell

Joe Sugg was on the same series of Strictly as Stacey and was partnered with Australian dancer Dianne Buswell. Confirming their relationship after the show ended, Joe revealed: “I may not have won the glitter ball, but I’ve won something a million times more special."

Since then, the pair have taken their fans on the journey with them as they shared glimpses into holidays as well as moving in together back in 2021.

Just last week, the couple took to Instagram to reveal they’re expecting their first child together as they also announced the gender as he expressed: “Our little baby boy, we cannot wait to meet you.”

The loved-up couple announced the news with a funny video of them painting a picture in their house. The camera shows them pulling faces as they concentrated on the task at hand before they revealed their joint artwork.

They then showed the image to the camera which revealed Joe and Dianne as stick people with a stick baby in the middle.

Fans and friend's couldn't contain their excitement for the announcement as Joe's brother in law Alfie Deyes wrote: "Sooo excited for you both! The family is growinggg", while Stacey Dooley penned: "YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES".

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